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General Information

Welcome to our Auriel guide for Heroes of the Storm. Here
you will learn everything you need to know in order to play Auriel in a
competitive environment, whether you play on your own or with a team.

About the Author

Straften is a Grand Master ranked player in both Hero League and Team League. He has a passion for theorycrafting, and regularly tests new features early on the PTR. He explains his strategy, reasoning, and implementation in these guides.

1. Quick Reference

Sacred Sweep Blind Build

While also built around Sacred Sweep, this build
sacrifices damage to allow Auriel to reliably apply Blind to enemy Heroes. It
can cripple team compositions that rely on Basic Attacks for most of their
damage.

Sacred Sweep Damage Build

This build focuses on dealing AoE with
Sacred Sweep. It is extremely effective for clearing
Minions, and will apply noticeable map pressure to games where it is used. This
build will also help Auriel deal increased damage in team fights,
increasing her healing in turn.

Detainment Strike Build

Heavy Burden combined with the increased push range
provided by Repelling Strike can often result in picks
for Auriel's team. This build is best when Auriel has a strong frontline, as
healing those allies will also cause damage to the enemy Heroes next to them.

Synergies and Counters

Auriel synergizes with

Auriel can bring amazing amounts of healing into a match; however, she can
be prevented from healing at all sometimes. For this reason, Auriel does very
well with a secondary support on her team. Another powerful strategy for
ensuring Auriel will be able to heal reliably is to draft Cho'gall, due to the
fact that Bestow Hope will gather energy from both of
them.

Auriel is countered by

Auriel is countered by dive compositions that can successfully engage, even
with Crystal Aegis in play. The cooldown on Ray of Heaven
prevents it from saving allies from the most aggressive plays, even in cases
where Bestow Hope is able to refill the energy
for a second cast immediately.

Maps

Auriel's stronger maps

Auriel's average maps

Auriel's weaker maps

Auriel does well on maps where waveclear is important, because she can use
Sacred Sweep to efficiently clear enemy Minions. She
thrives on maps with tightly packed obstacles, where she can get the most
value out of Detainment Strike. Some maps promote
teams to group as early as Level 1, which gives Auriel multiple options
for Bestow Hope right from the start.

TL;DR Tips

Sacred Sweep gives you good waveclear, and decent damage in team fights. Use it to build up Energy whenever it is available.

Try to get the most value out of your Energy by casting Ray of Heaven on multiple allies.

Detainment Strike can be a great tool to setup kills in tight corridors; however, don't hesitate to use it just to peel pursuing enemies.

Be aware of your allies and move Bestow Hope to an ally who is positioning to deal damage.

Like other Stasis effects, Crystal Aegis can be used to save allies from targeted Abilities.

2. Overview

Auriel is a ranged Support who turns her team's
damage into AoE burst healing. Although she
relies directly upon her team's combat effectiveness to perform well, she
greatly amplifies a winning team's momentum. When paired with another support
who can provide her with increased mobility and supplimenal healing, she can be
exceptionally powerful.

3. Strengths

4. Weaknesses

Low mobility

Susceptible to dive

Cannot heal without storing Energy via combat

Very weak by when isolated

5. Role In The Current Meta

Auriel is usually best played as a secondary support. This is because she
cannot heal at all under certain circumstances, and may need the assistance
of another healer in order to build up her Energy efficiently. Due to her lack
of mobility, she does well with Heroes who
can help her to reposition when needed. She can be very strong against enemy
team compositions reliant on Basic Attacks, as Blinding Flash
can be used to prevent a lot of their damage. Although she is
not perfect for every team composition, she can be truly remarkable with the
right Heroes by her side.